Over in the Daily Caller, they take a look at one of the lesser-known Republicans seeking the Senate nomination in Virginia, Jamie Radtke. (The better-known Republican, of course, is former senator and governor George Allen.)
This line stood out to me:
Radtke has faith in the Tea Party’s ability to remain influential, adding that the two-year-old movement is “getting more sophisticated” and “learning what worked and didn’t work and improving upon that.” She thinks it’s funny, though, that so many “Republicans in Name Only,” or RINOs, are trying to attach themselves to the vibrant Tea Party movement. Radtke noted that Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican, has appeared at several different Tea Party events as of late, and laughed about a new Virginia group, “Tea Party Patriots for George Allen.”
“We were going to start calling them TINOs, or ‘Tea Party in Name Only,’” Radtke joked. “That’s going to be our new nickname for them.”
Really? If a Virginia conservative prefers Allen — with his lifetime ACU rating of 92, NRA-rated “A,” rated 0 by NARAL, rated 0 by the AFL-CIO, Balanced Budget Amendment–backing, rated 100 percent by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, abolished parole as governor, etc. — that somehow renders a person “Tea Party in Name Only”?
After questioning this notion, a wise voice pointed out to me that Tea Party candidates are often political outsiders and newcomers, contrasted with primary opponents who are the usual party insiders.
Thank goodness the Tea Party’s message can be carried by political newcomers and outsiders like four-term state legislator and former speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio; Justice Alito clerk, Supreme Court litigant, and counsel to Gov. Jon Huntsman Mike Lee; former IRS lawyer, three-term state legislator, and three-term House member Michele Bachmann; three-term congressman and two-term senator Jim DeMint, and the son of a congressman and leader of an anti-tax organization for 16 years, Rand Paul.
Jim, you are confirming was some already suspect: that the "Tea Party" impulse is being co-opted by opportunistic professional politicians.
Oh well...that's what I expect in a republican nation.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow involved has George Allen been in the Tea Party Movement over the past two years? I'll bet the answer is not much. In any event, Jamie would know -- she both worked for George Allen and has been instrumental in organizing Tea Party activities in Virginia, including last fall's big Richmond meeting.
In any event, no need to be snarky here -- just let the voters figure out who is the best candidate.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe Tea Party is a broad group with no real membership requirements, and I suspect a lot more people who consider themselves Virginia Tea Party members support Allen than Radtke. The ones who make the most noise don't necessarily speak for the majority, especially in Virginia. The leaders of the Richmond Tea Party spend a large amount of their time bashing Eric Cantor (ACU lifetime rating 97)and calling him a RINO, liberal and worse. Its embarassing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe already knew that quite a few candidates managed to get into the general election in 2010 because they managed to say the right things to the people like the Tea Parties and were promptly acclaimed as the next coming of the Reagan without, you know, actually having their backgrounds or records scrutinized or even having previously won any elected office. Not surprisingly, a lot of bad apples were found in the lot - Christine O'Donnell and the guy who was the Republican nominee for governor in Colorado comes to mind.
I hope it means the voters in Republican primaries pay closer attention to the candidate then simply hearing them say the correct things.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI get the feeling that Jim is getting concerned that the Republicans are going to end up with an unelectable Presidential nominee and lower than expected gains in the Senate due to the Tea Party insistence that politicians track as far right rhetorically as possible, leaving no room to tack to the center to get votes.
I share this concern. Good to see him start calling out some of the more insidious cases...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA lot of Tea Partiers think conservative politics started in 2009. Everyone who was active before then were moderates; except for the ones that kiss the TP's feet.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWestCoast,
Exactly how does Radtke working as Allen's secretary ten years ago qualify her to know about Allen's interaction with the Tea Party?
Thanks for the article Jim.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis is an excellent post Jim. There are far too many "tea party" folks who believe that an ideological purity test must be passed in order to be considered at "true" conservative. I don't think Reagan would have been conservative enough for many of them. I am as conservative as they come, but I also understand that you have to win elections in order to govern. For instance, I'll take an electable Mike Castle (with whom I agree 55% of the time) over an unelectable Christine O'Donnnell (with whom I'd agree 85% of the time) in order to have the Senate Majority.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWestCoast5, the fact that Radtke answered phones in the Governor's office for a couple of months hardly qualifies her as having "experience working for Allen." But, for the record, I haven't seen her listing that on her resume.
As for Allen's involvement with the Tea Party? He was one of the key speakers at the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Convention last October.
You know, the one Radtke organized.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBlackhawks, Jim isn't talking about candidates moving too far to the right. He's annoyed that someone forms a tea party and then decides who's a real Republican. Political insiders are RINOs because they must be ignoring the grassroots and don't care what "real" Republicans want.
Jim's been around a while, so when some tea party member disagrees with him, he's somehow a party insider that's trying to keep the "real" Republicans down.
Radtke is now claiming to be a party insider. A tea party insider. Yet there is no tea party organization that gets to determine who is tea party. If you form one in your area, it's a tea party. That's true individualism. So, no, Jamie, you don't get to decide who is and isn't tea party. You can cry in your boots when tea parties in Virginia endorse Allen, instead of her.
The opposition to Eric Cantor disturbs me, if one of the reasons is that Cantor isn't a "good Christian conservative."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTea Party has features & bugs, related to being composed of human beings - every party has the 'purity' problem, which I equate to the jr. high school trait of defining the 'in' crowd so that it includes me.
That said, I will continue to attend Tea Party rallies, and assist the movement. Times are too urgent to trust in politics as usual, and while the Tea Party movement has made mistakes, at least it is sincere and motivated.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe 15 minutes of the so called Tea Party should be over soon enough. Last year they caused too much pain to the GOP and the nation.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo long as criticism of Cantor is grounded in his support for TARP it is valid. Outside of that, not so much.
Things here in VA are a little touchier because, until recently, the state GOP had a bad habit of pushing tax increases while clinging to social issues to call themselves conservatives.
Allen, though, had no part in any of that. There are questions he needs to address, but the party establishment's old taxaholism didn't affect him.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat the article and most of the comments made here missed the point of Allen's voting record for the 6 years he was a senator. To name a few--- Medicaid Drug Bill that was unfunded and was one of the biggest government expansions in our countries history.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe voted Against a bill to reform Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac-We are still bailing them out by the billions. There's a gift from Allen that keeps on taking. HE was one of the politicians on a drunken spending spree that got us to the 14 trillion deficit! I don't give a hoot what he says now, his actions already proved he's NOT a tea party candidate. He's just another spineless RHINO. As for Eric Cantor, he's patting himself on the back for cutting 6 billion on the same day that 72 billion was added to the debt. We criticize him because he's all talk and no action. If he defunded obamacare, that would cut 100 billion(like he promised) out of the budget. Time is up people! We are Broke!
Since the Tea Party was a protest movement targeted very specifically at fiscal issues it makes sense to apply the TINO to big government conservatives. Allen is free to argue whether that term applies to him. On the other hand the term RINO tends to be used by those who either have not figured out the two party system or yearn for a purist minority party.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFor the most part, those who throw around the RINO/TINO label are those who've never been elected or run of office above that of county central committee. They throw names at the very people (like Cantor, McCarthy and Boehner) who saved us from Pelosi.
I'm all for picking the most conservative person who can win, but win first. Holding the Speaker's chair or the Majority Leaders office in the Senate is far more important
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJimmy and the commenters here are indulging their prejudices with straw man arguments in lieu of putting enough real thought into the RINO/TINO conundrum. Is it possible that someone like Allen can be neither a RINO or a TINO, and simply be an acceptable, though not ideal candidate from the Tea Party point of view? Yes, the tea partiers are like the decentralized Babtists as opposed to the centralized Catholics. That doesn't mean they forfeit the responsibility to maintain the brand with a semblance of consistency or coherence by willingly accepting any big gov Republican (conscience or otherwise) who wants to now be part of the cool club. For Jim, voting records are of marginal importance at making these determinations, and having served in a state legislature does not, ipso facto, make one an "insider".
To me, a real Tea Partier will have demonstrated the following: A) real advocacy for smaller government conservatism, B) principled belief in the constitution, and C) an unwillingness to place one's social standing with one's colleagues and the media above doing what's right. I like Allen as a strong, articulate conservative Republican, but that's not the same as being a Tea Party conservative.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIMHO, a TP'er is one who is not afraid to lose. They will be willing to put principle ahead of the security of being accepted by the msm and the "club". They are going to DC to solve problems and not become part of the problem. The former Senator may well be one who will ascribe to the tenets of the TP, but he is also one who in the past seems to really enjoy being part of the scene in DC. We are not interested in going to DC to be homecoming king or queen. We are looking for another Al Dunlap, who is coming to town with a chainsaw, not a flyswatter.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn today's internet-driven conservative community, a "RINO" is someone who disagrees with you on an issue you think is important. I presume "TINO" will follow the same pattern.
To me, it is ridiculous to label people who have spent years fighting for conservative principles and against big government, earning lifetime ACU ratings over 80 - in some cases, well over 80 - as somehow phony.
The vitriol spewed at them, and the anger those throwing the labels around show, reminds me more of the behavior traditionally associated with the political left, where no dissent from the party line is tolerated, than with our side of the aisle.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDefinition of TINO: Someone who has been in politics for a while, has name recognition, and who therefore suffers guilt by association with the GOP establishment.
Once we reject all who fit this definition, that leaves us with Christine O'Donnell et al. But we can feel very pure and self righteous about voting for our candidates, as they go down in defeat.
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